כי לא מחשבותי מחשבותיכם

כִּי לֹא מַחְשְׁבוֹתַי מַחְשְׁבוֹתֵיכֶם, וְלֹא דַרְכֵיכֶם דְּרָכָי

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Tradition, Interrupted

One of the main claims asserted by the Jewish outreach industry is that the chain of tradition was never broken. This is the prerequisite for the Kuzari Principle™, the idea that the revelation at Sinai is likely to have happened because there has been an uninterrupted chain from father to son that it happened. And if it weren't true, this claim would have been rebutted by their children.

Note that Gottlieb never claims that his principle is proof for the revelation at Sinai but, in his words, "There is enough evidence in favor of the revelation to make it reasonable to accept."

One reason is that the reason that Jewish people believe in the revelation at Sinai has more to do with indoctrination than a tradition from father to son. In fact, most people I know were just taught that the revelation of Sinai was true without a personal testimony of their fathers saying that they have a tradition that their great-great-great-(...)-grandfathers received the Torah at Sinai.

The other reason for doubt comes from nothing less than...Tenach!

Short history lesson: Nehemia was the governor of Persian Judaa during the Second Temple period. The Persian king Artaxerxes allowed Nehemia to rebuild the walls and the city of Jerusalem. He served in Judea for 12 years in total.

During the rededication of the Temple, on the first day, they read from the 'Book of Law'. On the second day, they continue to read in this book:

15 and that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying: 'Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and branches of wild olive, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.' {P}

16 So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the broad place of the water gate, and in the broad place of the gate of Ephraim.

17 And all the congregation of them that were come back out of the captivity made booths, and dwelt in the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.

Now, there are two interesting points here:

In verse 15, it appears that olive branches and branches of wild olive need to be used to make sukot (booths), and then writes 'as it is written'. I did not know of any references made or any commentators that explain it satisfactorily. It appears that these verses were lost in tradition.

From the fact that it says in verse 14 that they 'found' it written in the Torah that the Children of Israel should sit in booths, it seems that they were unaware of this fact. A fact that, nowadays, any school child knows. Furthermore, it appears that they did not dwell in booths since the days of Joshua: "for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so."

Both points, the 'lost' verses about the olive branches and the 'forgotten' tradition of dwelling in booths clearly demonstrate that tradition was, in fact, interrupted.

Maybe this is a translation issue, but it seems like this "unbroken tradition" is dispelled in Shoftim as well:

Judges 2: 8-13"Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred ten years. So they buried him within the bounds of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

Moreover, that whole generation was gathered to their ancestors, and another generation grew up after them, who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.

Then the Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and worshiped the Baals; and they abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; they followed other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were all around them, and bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger.

They abandoned the Lord, and worshipped Baal and the Astartes. "

And then again in Judges 3:7 "The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, forgetting the Lord their God, and worshiping the Baals and the Asherahs."

They didn't know about God and forgot about the miracles. Good thing some people came along to "remind" them.